CONWAY, Ark. (KTHV) - Starting October 19 until October 23, Conway Schools will join forces with the State of Arkansas to promote School Bus Safety Week.

Every day in the Conway School District, 3,673 students are transported on school buses. Bus drivers cover more than 3,600 total miles each day with parents’ most precious cargo, their children.

“Safety on our school buses is a top priority,” says Ed Dow, Transportation Supervisor for Conway Public Schools. “We work year round to make sure we get all our kids to and from school safely each and every day.”

The Conway Public Schools Transportation Department works with our schools and community in several ways to promote bus safety. Recently, “Buster the Bus” made visits to all nine Conway elementary schools. “Buster” is a robotic school bus equipped with load\unload lights, a stop sign and crossing arm. He is interactive with the students; he can move around, open and close his eyes, wink, move his eyes from side to side and most importantly, talk to students.

“We show the students how to go to and from the bus stop, how to prepare to cross the street, how to get on the bus, and how to behave on the bus,” says Dow. “We also talk about the area around the bus (the danger zone), and the areas that are safe around the bus. At the end of the presentation we take all the students and let them load and unload on a full size bus."

Conway Public Schools also uses community awareness campaigns such as “Flashing Red, Kids Ahead” to remind drivers to stop for kids loading and unloading at bus stops.